Thank you so much for following me during my adventures in Shanghai! I hope you are enjoying my adventures.
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Now, onto this week’s adventure!
Life in Shanghai
As I’m sure all of you are aware, the beginning of the lunar new year holiday corresponded with an an outbreak of a new strand of the coronavirus here in China. The center of the outbreak is in Wuhan (closer to central China). I want to start this entry be assuring you all that I am safe and healthy. My parents have told me that many of you have been concerned about me and asked them for an update. I really appreciate that so many of you thought of me, so I wanted to take the time to reassure you that I’m fine. Wuhan is ~ 500 miles from Shanghai, so Shanghai is not locked down like Wuhan is. However, in an effort to eliminate the spread of the virus much of the city is shutdown. Many museums, public parks, and entertainment spaces are closed. Schools are also closed until the 17th (which corresponds to when the Spring semester at SJTU begins). There have been many safety recommendations, such as 1). If one is sick, go to the hospital, 2). If you visited Wuhan please check with health authorities, 3). Wear masks in public, 4). Wash your hands frequently (this is the really important one), the CDC recommends this as the best way to prevent the spread of the disease (and as I’ve seen with many of my colleagues, soap is not always used here), and 5). Avoid wild animals (both in terms of eating and interacting with).
As many of you know, during Lunar New Year, many people travel throughout China and abroad. My main concern is that following the Lunar New Year holiday, which ends on Thursday, there will be an influx of people entering Shanghai, some of which who may have been exposed to the virus. For that reason, I’m making sure to take safety precautions. For me, this includes frequently washing my hands (after being outside) and wearing a mask when outside (albeit not when I go running). The CDC also notes that masks aren’t really entirely effective at preventing spreading the disease. While I personally wish the mask could be a little more comfortable (it started to hurt my ears after a while), I was glad that it at least didn’t fog up my glasses. I’ve ordered more masks (in black), which should be delivered after the new year. Hopefully they won’t be necessary, but best to be safe. If you have any concerns or health tips for me, please let me know!
In terms of the rest of the week, it was a pretty weird week. I went to the office on Monday and Tuesday. However, I was the only person in the office, which was really weird. While I don’t mind having a full office to myself, it wasn’t that enjoyable to realize that there was almost nobody else (except the janitorial staff) in the building. So, starting on Wednesday, I began working from home. I’m going to be doing this for all of next week as well. This was a decision I made not as a health concern, but primarily so I could avoid my hour commute to sit in an empty building. However, once the University reopens, I’ll determine (based on the advice of Prof. Zu) whether it’s safe (health wise) for me to return to the office.
The benefit of working from home is that I was able to be a little bit more productive with my time. I made some notable progress on my research on the Luminosity Function and am quite close to correctly reproducing the first (of two) figures from a prior work. I also have some exciting results from my research (based on my conversation with Song Huang) that I’m planning to start writing up this week! So, maybe I’ll be submitting a new paper in the next month!
While working from home has been nice, in terms of my productivity, it has also allowed me to watch a lot of tennis! As many of you know, I love watching tennis and am a diehard Rafael Nadal fan. The Australian Open started this past week and unlike the experience for those of you living in the US, the tennis happens between 8am – 7pm, so I can watch it throughout the day! This is the first sports experience that I’ve had where it’s much better being in Shanghai than the USA. I look forward to watching more of Rafa’s matches next week as well!
In addition to watching lots of tennis, I was also able to go for two runs this week, despite the somewhat lousy weather (in the 40s, but lots of rain). I did a 4.6 mile run on Thursday and a 5.1 mile run on Friday! Even with the virus scare, I think it’s important to exercise and maintain my own fitness.
In the little time that I spent outside of my apartment this week, I did see lots of cool Lunar New Year decorations! It’s really cool how the city has been decorated.
Additionally, I noticed that some of the translations referred to it as the year of the mouse, so the rats may be cute because rats and mice aren’t differentiated in Chinese culture like they are in the US.
There was also an awesome interactive art exhibit set up in Xintiandi (near where I live) called the Airship Orchestra! It is inflatable sculptures, some of which kind of look like rats, with music playing inside!
Additionally, I saw a lot of fascinating sculptures, advertisements, and decorations throughout the city! It amazes me how decorative Shanghai is. I love that even though I’ve lived here for 4 months, there are still so many new things for me to see when I walk around the city!
The painting blends into the park! 
A dragon! 
One thing I do want to mention is that unlike what everyone told me, Shanghai is not completely shut down during the Lunar New Year Holiday. While I did have to order my groceries to arrive on Thursday, the local fruit store and local convenience stores (Family Mart and Lawsons) were open. Many of the stores in the local mall were also open on Sunday. So, while the city empties out, everything isn’t closed for the week.
Since many of the museums that I want to visit where shut down, this week, on Sunday, I joined the Historic Shanghai group for another walking tour, this time of the Xiaonanmen district of Shanghai. This is an area ~ 2 miles from where I live that is located on the outer boarder of the old walled city of Shanghai that is near the Yangtze River (the bund area). This is another older district of Shanghai that is in the process of undergoing urban renewal. However, there are still tons of beautiful older buildings and architectural landmarks, some of which will hopefully be restored.
The Tour began by visiting an old fire tower, that was built at the beginning of the 20th century. Then we proceeded to take a long walk weaving down alleyways to different streets and lane neighborhoods. As you can tell by these photos, these houses were built at a time to showcase a combination of Chinese and European styles with some Art Deco influences thrown in as well! These buildings were mostly built between the beginning of the 20th century and the 1930s.
We also visited a home that Albert Einstein visited and dined at when he visited Shanghai in the 1920s! I didn’t realize Einstein had ever been to Shanghai, so this was quite a treat to learn! This was the estate of a wealthy family that was later abandoned and occupied by the family’s servants during the cultural revolution.
The tour ended by visiting an old 16th century estate and library! While the compound is now unfortunately in disrepair due to a disagreement between the family who owns the home (and has since 1880) and the Shanghai government, it is still a beautiful building. I hope that one day it can be repaired to its original majesty.
Despite the wet weather conditions, I really enjoyed the tour of Xiaonanmen. It’s really interesting to see all of these old neighborhoods, especially since in a few years many of them will likely be gone or completely transformed (as is the case with Xintiandi, the neighborhood where I live).
Due to the Lunar New Year holiday and the virus I didn’t have any culinary or Jewish adventures this week. Hopefully those will resume in the coming weeks.
While not as fun as some of my other weeks, I hope that you are comforted by my explanation of what’s been happening here in Shanghai (with respect to the coronavirus). Hopefully a cure will be discovered soon and life can return to a semblance of normalcy. Additionally, I hope that you also enjoyed seeing some of my photos from my tour of Xiaonanmen as well! This upcoming week will be relatively quiet. I’ll be working from home so hopefully I’ll make more research progress. I look forward to sharing my upcoming adventures with you all! If you have any questions/comments about Shanghai, let me know!
In peace,
Jesse
Thanks for the virus update Jesse! I’m glad to hear you’re taking precautions. The inflatable art exhibit looks really cool! I’m glad you were able to be productive this week and got to do a little exploring. The sights from the tour looked very interesting. There is such a dichotomy between the the estate and the more modern looking buildings is really amazing. I hope they keep some of the more traditional architecture. That’s so cool that you saw where Einstein stayed. Have a great week and stay safe!
Hi Emmet! The inflatable exhibit is really cool! I see it a lot and I always stop and stare at it. I agree about the dichotomy of the city. There’s very much a juxtaposition of old/new and wealthy/poor in Shanghai.
Hi, Jesse. Like Emmet, I found your post very reassuring. I am glad to know you are taking precautions to keep you well.
Given all the years that you stayed up to watch Raffa Nadal play, the ability to watch the tennis in the day must be a pleasure. I also enjoyed your pictures of the Lunar New Year decorations and the mix of old and new buildings in the Xiaonanmen. It is really neat to learn that Einstein visited Shanghai and to see a building there he stayed. And I am also fascinated to learn that in Chinese culture, the mouse and the rat are not clearly differentiated as they are in other cultures–that explains all the cute versions of the rat/mouse on the decorations.
Keep safe and wishing you a very productive week on your luminosity research. Miss you and love you, Mom
Hi Mom! Thanks for the well wishes. I’m doing my best to make progress on my work while I’m stuck at home. I’m glad that you enjoyed seeing the pictures of Xiaonanmen. Miss you too!
Given the ubiquity of masks as a preventative measure against the virus in China, do the Chinese health authorities view these masks as more effective than the US CDC?
And the tennis. Growing up in Britain, I used to watch Wimbledon on British TV and British TV seemed to me to capture the ball far better than US TV. I assume this was because of the different rate of speed at which the image on the screen was produced given the number of “lines” with which the image was made (in British TV images were compiled using 625 lines. Was it 405 lines in the US? ). Not sure if modern technology has changed all this, but how well does watching tennis in China compare to the experience of watching the game in the US?
Hi Bernard. It’s a little unclear to me if the Chinese view the masks as being extremely effective. They are a preventative measure, but I think that it’s sometimes being presented as “if you wear a mask you won’t get sick.” However, as the CDC noted this isn’t entirely true.
In terms of tennis. I’ve actually been watching it via ESPN on my computer (since I don’t pay for Chinese cable), so I can’t say whether it’s any different in China. However, if I get the chance to see it on TV here, I’ll let you know.
Thanks for your reply, Jesse. I wonder if the mask might be effective if the virus is transferred through coughs and sneezes – so they are not so much to protect the wearer but to protect others from the wearer …? but (at least to me) it is not entirely clear that anyone is certain how the virus is picked up (through the air , or by touch or???)
Hi Bernard. That’s an excellent point! I hadn’t thought of that. I think you are correct that masks will at least prevent people from transferring the virus, and possibly reduce people from picking it up.
Good to know that you are taking good care of yourself and being cautious, Jesse. I’m not sure which is closer to the truth, the media coverage we get of the coronavirus or your more reasonable first hand accounts. I’m not really sure how the masks are supposed to help: if a virus escapes into the air, don’t you run just as much a risk of inhaling it in the air in your apartment or office as you would wearing a mask on a crowded street corner? You might want to look into whether it is smart to run outdoors, too.
On another note, I love how your photographs in this post highlight the architectural diversity of Shanghai. Are any of the old buildings protected by something like the Preservation Society that we have in Saratoga Springs? It would be a shame to lose them.
Sorry that activities are quiet on the Jewish front, but remember that you don’t really need an organization to maintain your Jewish identity. Have you tried lighting Shabbat candles at home? Would you like us to send you the prayer books you have here? Shavuah Tov!
Hi Dad! In terms of escaping into the air, I do have an air filter (which I assume is similarly effective to a mask), but again, not entirely sure how effective those are for viruses. I did take your advice and I have decided not to run until it’s deemed safe. I am still trying to exercise in my apartment, though (lots of pushups, cruches, and jumping jacks).
There are actually 4 types of preserved buildings and monuments, national, provincial, city, and district monuments. However, just because they are preserved, it doesn’t mean they are kept in great shape, which is unfortunate.
I will try lighting the Shabbat candles in my apartment this week. Thanks for the suggestion. In terms of prayer books, I’ll definitely get one from you the next time I’m home. Given the cost of the last package, I’d prefer you not ship them. 🙂
Thanks for the fascinating update, Jesse–and I envy you your temporal relationship to Australian tennis!
Hi Mason! I’m glad that you are enjoying my blog. It’s been a lot of fun getting to watch so much of the Australian Open. Although, Rafa’s loss to Thiem was disappointing (It was a fantastic match though).
Hi Jesse-
I love reading all about your adventures and am learning so much about Shanghai from you!! Of course, this week we are all concerned about the virus and your health. It sounds like you are taking every precaution.
I went to the movies with your mom yesterday – we saw Jojo Rabbit, which we both thought was very well done. As usual, our conversation turned towards our kids and especially, to you – You’ve got lots of support at home! Please know that I’ve spoken to the girls and along with John, we are all all keeping you in our thoughts and hope life will get back to normal before too long. (Glad you have the internet and can easily be in touch with family and friends!)
All the best-
Amy
Hi Amy! Thank you so much for writing! I’m really glad to hear that you are enjoying the blog! Thanks for sending your support! It’s been very comforting knowing that so many people are thinking of me back home!
Jesse, awesome that your research is going well! Is that work with Song Huang something you started really recently too?
Hi Ryan! I just started that work after Song visited SJTU, which was mid January. I’m pretty sure I’m done with the science results and am writing it up know! It’s super exciting to have something moving this fast!